The tears were many as we said goodbye to our pastor of 6 months this Sunday. He's known in our parish for his lengthy homilies that stretch the Mass to 2 hours, but I never minded. I looked forward every week to learning from his preaching and witnessing him In Persona Christi at the altar. This Sunday seemed like any other except there was a heavy cloud hanging over our heads with the knowledge that we'd have to say goodbye to Father. I went to church ready to witness the Mass of the Ages; Christ's once and for all sacrifice. When it came time for the homily, I settled myself in the pew ready to soak in every one of Father's last words to us, his flock.
He shared that this change was hard, but that he had to be obedient. He encouraged us to continue on with courage always looking forward. Remember what you've been taught and always persevere. Father has started so many wonderful aids to the Catholic life in our parish such as adult and children's Catechism classes, an altar boys guild, Sunday brunch in the hall, processions, and more. He encouraged us to keep up these practices so that we could live our faith in our everyday lives. Our lives should center around our faith and our faith is fostered by our activities at church. "Don't let these go," he said.
Give your very best to God. This is another lesson Father imparted to us in his words and actions. He spoke of the importance of the beauty and reverence of the liturgy, especially in the music. The Gregorian chant should be so beautiful and so peaceful that it lulls you to sleep! What he really means, of course, is that the music should be a beautiful aid in lifting your soul in meditation to the heights of Heaven. The liturgy should be enhanced but not overshadowed by the music. Father also stressed that the liturgy should be so reverently and seriously treated to draw many young men to serve Holy Mother Church at her altars as servers and eventually as priests. We need the Catholic life in all its fullness to foster these vocations.
Father wrapped up his homily by saying "Make sure I see you in Heaven. And if I don't, it better be because you're there and I'm not." This shepherd would lay down his own life for his sheep. He cares for each and every one of our souls and wants to make sure he does everything in his power to get us to Heaven.
So after this last charge to his flock, Father continued on with Holy Mass celebrating it with all the reverence and devotion that he always does. At the time of consecration and the elevation of the host, I looked up at his consecrated hands lifting Jesus before our eyes. These hands have led so many souls to Jesus in the last six months and I know they will continue doing so. As I received Our Lord in the Eucharist from these hands I couldn't help a few tears coming to my eyes. Others around me were crying too. I wasn't crying because we were losing a man, but I couldn't quite figure it out at first and then I remembered the words of Our Lord Himself to the women of Jerusalem,
"Weep not over me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children."
~Luke 23:38
We weren't crying because we were losing this man we had grown to love, but we were crying because we were losing a Father for ourselves and our children. We wept that we would lose this shepherd who had done so much for us and our faith. He taught us many other valuable lessons in these short six months. He brought Christ to us as often as he could and he stood in Christ's place for us acting as His mediator. He laid down his life for us just like Jesus did and we were sad at the thought of losing such a spiritual father. We know he will go on to do great work in his other assignments and that he will always be praying for us but we also know that a good father is hard to find. Not every priest speaks the hard truth unafraid of what others may think or say. Not every priest fosters the Catholic life so zealously in his parish. Not every priest hunts down his fallen away faithful as this one did. He is zealous for souls and that is the kind of Father we need and love. Father summed up what a priest in the church should be pretty well the other night quoting St. Augustine,
"A priest should be an agel at the altar, a lamb in the confessional, and a lion at the pulpit."
And that he is and so much more. I will be sad not having a priest such as he is to lead my soul, my family, and our parish in the ways of the Catholic life. I weep for myself and my future children and I pray that God will provide another such pastor for our souls.
Thank you, Father, for all your tireless prayers, hard work, and invaluable guidance you have given to our little parish family. We will strive to make you proud in this world and blessed in the next. You will be fondly remembered by this parish and always in our prayers wherever we go. May we meet again, if not in this life, then most certainly in Heaven.
Viva Christo Rey! Viva!
